Fati, Depay and Coutinho give Koeman some air at Barcelona

Sunday, October 17, 2021 at 10:51 PM• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 22:55

Barcelona turned the league match against Valencia into a win on Sunday evening. In their own Camp Nou, Ronald Koeman’s team won 3-1, partly due to a goal from Memphis Depay. In addition to the striker, Frenkie de Jong and Sergiño Dest were also on the field at Barcelona for ninety minutes; Luuk de Jong stayed on the couch. Jasper Cillessen was under the bar at Valencia. Barcelona have collected fifteen points from eight games and are in seventh place.

Despite the eventual victory, the match got off to a disastrous start for Barcelona. Koeman’s team got the first chance of the game, a shot by Ansu Fati that ended up in the side net, but fell behind after four minutes. Barcelona couldn’t get the ball away enough after a corner, creating a shot chance for José Gayá from the second line. He fired the ball from just under 25 yards into the left corner. On the other side, Dest was close to tying the score shortly afterwards, but Gayá was just a little earlier at the ball.

Nevertheless, Barcelona quickly equalized. In the thirteenth minute, Fati pulled in from the left wing, combined with Depay and shot into the right corner with a low bet. The striker had his first starting spot in 344 days, after being in the infirmary for a long time due to a serious knee injury. Gonçalo Guedes shot wide after a quick counter, after which Depay shot a free kick high over the goal. Barcelona took the lead five minutes before half time.

Referee Jesús Gil Manzano, who uses the whistle on Tuesday at Ajax’s Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, awarded a penalty to Barcelona. When Fati tried to shoot at close range, he was lightly hit by Gayá. Depay took care of the opportunity and shot flawlessly into the top right corner; Cillessen was transfixed. Shortly after the break, the goalkeeper prevented Fati from making it 3-1 with a save in the short corner.

A few minutes after Cillessen’s save, Carlos Soler almost made it 2-2. He was served by Guedes and fired a shot that exploded on the post. Marc-André ter Stegen then turned a shot from Guedes. Twelve minutes before the end, Soler sent a threatening cross, but Gerard Pique was able to clear the ball just in time. A free kick by Maximiliano Gómez sailed just past the post. So the equalizer was in the air, but it was Barcelona that struck six minutes before time. Dest swung away from his opponents at the back line and enabled Philippe Coutinho to score. Koeman has some air thanks to the victory over his old employer; Dynamo Kiev will be the opponent in the Champions League on Wednesday, after which Sunday el Classico against Real Madrid awaits.